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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. can — a tin
  3. content — happy
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. can — to be able to
  6. content — the amount
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. chest — of your body
  10. wound — an injury
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. chest — of your body
  13. wound — an injury
  14. vault — a safe
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. spell — a short time
  17. spell — magic
  18. spell — letters
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. chest — a box
  21. cold — not warm
  22. cold — an illness
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. can — a tin

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com